Qualcomm is planning to release a new mobile platform for the entry level category. According to leakster @Rquandt, the new SoC will be called the Snapdragon 450 and will appear in benchmarks as the SDM450. At the moment, the Snapdragon 435 mobile platform is the king of the 400 series and is present in phones like the Redmi 4X and the Huawei Y7 Prime.

Like the SDM435, the Snapdragon 450 is an octa-core chip but built on the 14nm node process, not 28nm. It will have 8 ARM Cortex-A53 cores and have its GPU clocked at 600MHz. This chip will offer low-power consumption like the Snapdragon 625 and 626 mobile platforms due to its configuration.

Other details about the SoC such as the LTE version, camera support and spectral bands are still unknown but we should expect it will have Quick Charge 3.0.

READ MORE: Qualcomm Launches New Audio Chips and Smart Audio Platform

Launch date is also unknown at the moment. We presume it will be announced next quarter and may start showing up in devices in Q4 2017 or Q1 2018. The Snapdragon 435 is still capable and manufacturers will want to clear its stock first before adopting the Snapdragon 450.

(Source, via)

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ARM announced two new processor cores and one new GPU core earlier today which should power the upcoming smartphones and other gadgets by the end of 2017 / early 2018. The new Cortex A75 processor core succeeds the powerful Cortex A73 cores that’s found inside many high-end chipsets today. The Cortex A55 is one of the most awaited upgrades as it succeeds the super popular Cortex A53 core that’s found in millions of smartphones. There’s a new GPU announced as well, the brand new Mali-G72 succeeding the G71 core announced last year.

DynamicIQ 

While these are important upgrades, what’s even more exciting is the announcement of the new DynamicIQ, which has been in the works for the past few years. If you are wondering why it’s important, note that it is the next generation tech in the super popular big.LITTLE architecture that’s currently used by most of the smartphone chipsets in the market including Snapdragon and Helio SoCs.

Considering how the big.LITTLE architecture was announced around 5 years back, it was about time that we got an upgrade to the architecture better suited for new generation requirements. One of the major upgrades in DynamicIQ architecture is the ability to mix different CPUs in a cluster. At present, the big.LITTLE architecture supports multiple clusters but each cluster would have just one type of CPU. For example, if there are two clusters, you can have Cortex A72 in one cluster and Cortex A53 in another cluster. But you couldn’t have them both together in one single cluster.

That changes with DynamicIQ architecture. This means you can have multiple CPUs in one single cluster and the number of CPUs in a single cluster has been increased to eight from the previous four limit in big.Little. So, you can have an octa-core chipset even with just one cluster. In fact, ARM predicts that a number of mid-range SoCs could go for an octa-core single cluster design with multiple CPU combinations. For example, Cortex A75 and Cortex A55 could be used in 1+7 or 2+ 6 or 4 + 4 or even just 1 + 4 combinations. With the support for multiple CPUs in a cluster, you could have lots of combinations.

ARM further predicts one particular combination to be popular among mid-range SoCs — Cortex A72 and Cortex A55 in 1 + 7 combination. This particular combination improves single thread performance up to 2.41x and multi-thread up to 1.42x as compared to an octa-core Cortex A53 SoC.

Another important feature of DynamicIQ is the presence of a DynamicIQ Shared Unit (DSU) which houses the L3 cache, takes care of power management as well as ACP and Peripheral port interfacing.

Note that as of now, only the newly announced Cortex A75 and Cortex A55 support DynamicIQ.

Cortex A75

This is the next generation core that will power the flagships of late 2017 and 2018. The Cortex A75 builds upon the thermal efficiency of A73 and boosts the performance. So, Cortex A75 offers more than 20 percent improvement in performance in a number of scenarios as compared to last year’s Cortex A73. This is achieved while maintaining the same levels of sustained performance. Also, instead of focusing on increasing power efficiency, ARM seems to have focused on keeping the same level of efficiency as the A73 while improving performance.

The Cortex A75 core is not just meant for smartphones as there are a number of large screen devices that could use this powerful chip, like Chromebooks and convertibles.

Cortex A55

The Cortex A55 is a much better upgrade, offering up to twice the boost in performance for memory-bound tasks as compared to the old Cortex A53. But for typical CPU usage tasks, the new processor core offers up to 20 improvement in performance, much like the Cortex A75.  Efficiency is also given due importance as the Cortex-A55 comes with 15 percent improvement in power efficiency as compared to its predecessor.

Remember that both, Cortex A55 and Cortex A75 are built on the new ARM v8.2-A architecture and ARM adds that these CPU cores are specifically designed to handle new age requirements like AI and machine learning.

Mali-G72 GPU

The current generation Mali-G71 GPU is found a number of high-end smartphones like the Huawei P10 and even the Samsung Galaxy S8 powered by the Exynos 8895.

The Mali-G72 improves energy efficiency by up to 25 percent as compared to Mali-G71. ARM has also improved performance density by up to 20 percent. This essentially means that you can put more GPU cores in the same die area. This could translate into more cores being packed inside flagship smartphone GPUs. At present, the Kirin 960 uses Mali-G71 MP8 GPU (eight-cores) and Samsung’s Exynos 8895 comes with Mali-G71 MP20 (20 cores). The G71 and G72 GPU support up to 32 cores and we may finally see top-end phones using more GPU cores inside its SoC to boost graphic performance.

It may take a while for chipmakers to implement the new DynamicIQ architecture, but we can expect new smartphones with Cortex A75 and A55 cores sometime early 2018. Best case scenario would be late 2017, but we’ll have to wait and see if new chips can release that early.

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It is no longer news that the Xiaomi Mi 5C would launch soon packing an entirely new self-developed processor by Xiaomi. A recent leak had revealed that the Pinecone chipset that would feature on the Mi 5C has a CPU with Cortex-A53 cores in an octa-core architecture said to be as powerful as the Snapdragon 808 chip.

Now, if you think that isn’t a good one for 2017, do not despair as more information has emerged about the Pinecone processor which is billed to give Xiaomi some level of independence in choosing the chip crammed its smartphones in the near future. According to the info, there are two models of the Xiaomi Pinecone processor which would hit the market this year. The two models go by the model numbers V670 and V970 and the Mi 5C would launch with the lower V670 model. The V670 is said to use four Cortex-A53 large cores and four Cortex A-53 small cores. The GPU is composed of the Mali-T860 MP4 GPU with a clock speed of 800MHz. The V670 is also said to be using a 28nm manufacturing process.

On the other hand, the higher V970 model is said to come in the fourth quarter (Q4) of this year and has a core parameter comprising four Cortex-A73 cores and four Cortex-A53 cores in an octa-core architecture. The CPU is said to have a minimum clock frequency of up to 2.0GHz and a maximum clock speed of 2.7GHz. The V970 is also equipped with a more superior Mali G71 MP12 GPU with a clock speed of 900MHz.

Read Also: Xiaomi Mi 5C To Feature Self-Developed Octa-core Pinecone SoC, Launching This Month!

The source also hints that the Pinecone processor with model number V970 would be produced using the same 10nm process as the Snapdragon 835 chip. Incredible, isn’t it? There is still more, the high-end Pinecone processor is also said to feature in the Xiaomi Mi 6s and Mi Note 3. We’ll be on the look out for more details.

(source)

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The Xiaomi Mi 5C has turned out to be one of Xiaomi‘s rumored device that just refused to meet with us. The device has been popping in and out of the radar, even finding its way into e-commerce websites Jingdong (JD.com) and Taobao but yet wasn’t released. Perhaps Xiaomi was waiting for the right time to unveil the first device that would carry its self-developed Pinecone processor. But it looks like we’ll finally meet the Mi 5C soon if the latest rumor we are getting is anything to go by.

Coming from research analyst Kevin Wang, is the revelation that the Mi 5C would indeed feature an octa-core Pinecone processor developed by Xiaomi.The processor would be based on the Cortex-A53 cores in a 4×4 arrangement which place it in the mid-range category. The analyst also hinted that the Mi 5C could be released this month. In addition, another tipster added his voice to the discuss by revealing that there is another SoC with the more powerful Cortex-A73 cores still in a 4 x 4 architecture which would be released later on.

Read Also: Xiaomi Mi 5C Gets China’s 3C Certification, Rumored to Launch in February

The Xiaomi Mi 5C had earlier been revealed to sport a 5.5-inch display with 2.5D curved glass, 3GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, a 12MP rear camera, and 8MP front-facing selfie shooter. The device, which also goes by the codename Meri, will run on MIUI 8 based on Android Marshmallow 6.0. Earlier rumors had also tipped the device for launch this February, so we hope to finally get to meet the device soon.

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Just a few days back we came across some news about the upcoming Helio X20 chipset. Mediatek rebranded its MT679X lineup earlier this year to Helio X series. The company wanted to portray the Helio series as powerful chipsets, that’s why the X in the brand name stands for Extreme performance.

Looks like the company is pretty serious about the new Helio X20 chipset as it is said that the processor will feature 10-cores. Yes, this will make it the first 10-core chipset in the market and its expected to go into mass production in the next few months.

Now, new report from Taiwan media reveals some more details about the Helio X20. The report says that the new chipset will feature two powerful but battery hogging Cortex A57 cores and 4 + 4 Cortex A53 power efficient cores. The A57 cores will boost the performance of the chip, but the A53 ones will keep a balance of power and performance. So, in all, it once again confirms the 10-core chip design on the new flagship SoC from Mediatek.

The key element here is Mediatek’s unique three public board architecture design along with turbo boost for performance improvements. The company has used its own research to develop a 3 core design much like ARM’s big.Little architecture. The chip can independently adjust its performance and power according to the needs, just like in the case of turbo in a car.

Finally, the chip will be built on TSMC’s 20nm process and will support Cat. 6 4G LTE-A networks. Interestingly, the report says that Helio X20 chip could go into mass production as early as July this year, which is much earlier than what we predicted.

The earlier leak said that the chip could break the 70,000 AnTuTu barrier, but with 4+4 Cortex A53 cores, we will have to wait and watch if its really the case.

Anyways, so what do you think about the Cortex A57 (2) + (4+4) cortex A53 design? Will it be powerful enough for a flagship chip?

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Huawei recently announced its advanced Kirin 930 processor for 2015. This SoC uses a 16nm process which makes it much better than the 20nm process and 28nm process based chips in the market right now.

Although earlier it was rumored that the Huawei Kirin 930 chipset uses four Cortex A53 and four Cortex A57 cores, it was revealed recently that all the eight cores were ARM’s low power consuming Cortex A53. We were really surprised to hear that given that this would have made the SoC less powerful than other Cortex A57 based processors.

Finally, today, Huawei revealed why it decided to use eight Cortex A53 cores inside its flagship chipset.

According to the company, its new Kirin 930 processor is based on an enhanced version of the Cortex A53 cores. So, out of the eight cores in the SoC, four will be this Cortex A53e version which improves its performance to a great extent.

Traditional Cortex A53 cores run at 1.2GHz which is very low as compared to competitors. For example, the MT6752 octa-core SoC is clocked at 1.7GHz. So, in order to reach the same performance as these rival chipsets, the company had to increase the frequency to no less than 2.0 GHz.

It could have used the Cortex A57 processor which is almost 56% faster than A53. However, the company claims that A57 uses 256% more power than the A53, which would adversely affect the battery life. Moreover, Cortex A57 tends to heat faster, thereby increasing the temperature of the smartphone.

So, in order to avoid these problems, the company used the enahnced Cortex A53e cores on the chip. Of course, we still don’t think the performance will be at par with rival processors based on A57, however, for that you get efficiency and therefore additional battery life.

We have not yet seen the Mediapad X2 in action running this SoC, but according to leaked AnTuTu results, the processor manages to score above 44000 points on AnTuTu which is very impressive.

So, before we make our conclusions about the A53e powered Kirin 930, lets wait for an official review.

What do you think about the Kirin 930? Do you think the company was right in using Cortex A53 instead of A57 to make it more efficient and battery friendly?

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It has been quite a year so far for Chinese electronics company, Meizu. This year saw the release of the Pro version of the successful Meizu MX4, the Meizu MX4 Pro. A lot of news was made of this device for its great specifications and interesting design (it has a fingerprint scanner on the front instead of a Home button). But it is not over yet. Meizu recently announced the release of another phone, the Meizu K52.

Today, they released more information about the Meizu K52, particularly about its cost. According to reports, this device could rival Xiaomi’s Red Mi. It is said to have a very affordable price which is said to be 799 RMB. Although previous reports have stated that it would cost somewhere between 1000 RMB (162.46 USD) and 1300 RMB (211.20 USD), this year, Meizu has been pricing their products very differently. So, nobody should be surprised if it will really cost 799 RMB.

In addition, someone online leaked a photo of what appears to be a Meizu device’s Home button. It looks like Meizu’s classic round Home button, but it glows with a blue light. It looks pretty interesting. What do you all think?

Previous reports have stated that one of this device’s strengths is its slimness. It is said to be easy to handle with one hand. Furthermore, the Meizu K52 will sport a 4.6-inch 1080p display screen. It also uses the MT6752 64-bit octa-core chipset which has a frequency of 1.7GHz. It uses eight Cortex A53 cores and its GPU is the Mali-T760 MP2. It also has 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. As for connectivity, it has support for dual-SIM cards.

It sounds like a pretty interesting phone. It might make a nice Christmas present.

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Early next year, MTK will release their first 64-bit LTE chip, the MT6735. Among other things this chipset supports CDMA/EVDO China Telecom internet.

The product map above was posted by Bo Jiutang. According to the map, the MT6735 is set to hit the market during the Q2 season next year. Besides the standard version, there will also be a low-end version, the MT6735M.

The 64-bit MT6735 chip supports the Android OS 64-bit version and uses a four-Cortex-A53 CPU giving it a 1.3GHz-1.5GHz frequency. It supports a 720p screen as well as a 1080p video codec and 13mp camera.

The 6735M also uses four A53 cores but has a lower frequency (1Ghz). It supports a qHD screen, an 8Mp camera, and 1080p codec. Both versions support LTE CAT4 and increase upstream speed to, at most, 50Mps, and downstream speed to 150Mps.

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Early this year, MediaTek signed an agreement with Via Telecom and was given rights to the CDMA2000 allowing them to make processors that support 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. So, when will the first MTK chip that supports all these networks come out?

Analyst, Bo Jiutang, recently revealed that MTK’s first 2G/3G/4G chipset called the MTK6735 (EVDO-supported) will come out later this year. Based on the name, this does not sound like a high-rangking processor. The Snapdragon 400 and 410 will just be imaginary rivals for it. It should support four Cortex-A53 cores and its GPU might be the Mali-T760.

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